As the woman spoke with dispatchers, the man allegedly cut through her window screen, entered the home and attacked her with a hammer and knife. Investigators said he hit her on the head with the hammer, stabbed her in the lung and slashed her face from forehead to chin.

The woman was able to fight the man off until Milpitas police arrived, and she was airlifted to Valley Medical Center, investigators said. A 30-minute search by police and deputies located Wood hiding in a creekbed, allegedly with blood on his clothes and a bloody hammer nearby.

Investigators said a police dog followed the scent from the hammer back to the victim's house. The woman is expected to recover.